The SBU reported the suspicion in absentia to five generals and two colonels of the Russian Federation who commanded the first strike of a superheavy bomb on the Sumy region in 2022.
This was reported by the press service of the SBU.
We are talking about the military, who in May 2022 gave the order to strike the civilian infrastructure of the Sumy region with a guided aerial bomb of the UPAB-1500B type.
This was the first time that the Russians used such a powerful munition to shell peaceful objects in Sumy region, the SBU noted.
Then this super-heavy bomb hit an agricultural complex in the Putyvl community, destroyed several buildings of a local agricultural company, and damaged the buildings of two colleges.
According to the SBU, the initiator of this bombing was the commander of the Western Military District of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlev. He, together with his first deputy, Lieutenant General Alexei Zavizon, planned an air attack on a local agricultural enterprise.
Subsequently, the commander of the Russian Air Force, Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov, received a request from Zhuravlev to carry out an air strike and gave his consent.
Then, on his orders, the occupiers took off a Su-34 bomber from the airfield in Akhtubinsk and carried out a strike on a Ukrainian enterprise.
The investigation also identified four more Russian officials involved in the preparation and execution of the hostile air attack. All of them are subordinates of Dronov:
- Chief of Staff — First Deputy Commander of the Russian Air Force, Major General Sergei Meshcheryakov;
- Head of the 929th Flight Test Center of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Radik Bariev;
- Chief of Staff of the 929th Center, Colonel Viktor Mokhovikov;
- Deputy Head of the 929th Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Colonel Maxim Stefanov.
All seven were charged with violating the laws and customs of war. The maximum penalty is up to 12 years in prison.